Informal Assessments Essay

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Informal Assessments Standardized testing is the preferred way of assessing a student’s performance standardized testing is not appropriate for every student. In New York State alternate assessments are used for every student who is unable to take a standardized test. Whenever a standardized test is modified the test is no longer standardized it becomes an informal assessment. If a student is severely mentally challenged and a standardized test has to be modified by giving the student more time, or substituting the pictures for real objects or photos then the test is informal. Some Special Education Teachers make their own informal assessments and these are referred to as teacher made informal assessments. What is an informal assessment? Informal testing is usually based on observations and a scoring system is not used. The informal assessment can be a checklist or a (+) (-) system. The validity of an informal test is based on the goals that are set for the student. For example: If a student needs to receptively identify 20 words by the end of the year. The informal assessment becomes validated by the Special Educator keeping accurate data on the student’s performance. The student achieving the goal is what will determine if the assessment is valid. Some examples of informal testing are: Letter sound recognition, this test measures recognition of sounds and letters. Phonological awareness measures recognition of words, syllables, and rhymes. Phonemic Awareness measures a child’s ability to match words that sound alike. The test also assesses sounds in isolation, medial and final position. The Informal reading comprehension assessment is very common informal assessments and most of these assessments ask the child to read a passage and answer questions based on the passage. Some informal assessments might ask a child to retell a story or answer questions

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